N. Korea opens up for trade

North Korea will open up its once isolated economy to other Asian countries out of fear that it might be leaning and relying too much on China.

Under its young leader, Kim Jong-un, North Korea is pursuing economic building policies. The president of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly, Kim Yong Nam, visited Singapore and Indonesia to establish trade relations, including investments and natural resources development, according to the Korean Central News Agency.

North Korea had been facilitating meetings between its economic ministry and private-sector officials and Singaporean counterparts in the hope of exchanging trade ideals. A North Korean expert claimed that the country was following Singapore’s footsteps in becoming a base for distribution and transit trade, and had begun developing ports facing the Sea of Japan.

After Kim’s visit to Singapore, he met with Indonesian President Susilo Bamband Yudhoyono in Jakarta to discuss economic development, investment and trade.

Trade ties between the two Koreas was severed since South Korea imposed economic sanctions in 2010. Trade between the two amounts to 136.4 billion yen ($1.7 billion) last year. North Korea depended on its economic-giant neighbor, with their trade continuously growing. Beijing is pressuring Pyongyang on its nuclear programme.